Ruta Meilutyte and Yuliya Efimova were two of the biggest rivals in swimming before the Russian's doping ban

Plymouth-based Olympic champion Ruta Meilutyte says she no longer sees world champion Yuliya Efimova as an "honest competitor" following her doping ban.

The breaststrokers shared one of the biggest rivalries in swimming, with Russian Efimova claiming two golds to Meilutyte's one at the 2013 Worlds.

Her 16-month ban ended in March, and the pair will meet at August's World Championships in Efimova's homeland.

Meilutyte was "really disappointed" when Efimova failed a doping test.

"I used to really respect her as one of my strongest competitors and it was a great rivalry between us, but I don't see her as a true honest competitor any more," added the Lithuanian.

Ruta Meilutyte vs Yuliya Efimova

Meilutyte (Lithuania)

Efimova (Russia)

LC = long course (50m) swimming pool

Age:

18

23

Olympic medals:

One (gold)

One (bronze)

World (LC) medals:

Two (1 gold, 1 silver)

Eight (3 gold)

Euro (LC) medals:

One (gold)

Six (3 gold)

World (LC) records:

Two current

No current

The presence of banned steroid Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) was identified in Efimova's system during an out-of-season test at the swimmer's California base of Trojan in October 2013.

A doping committee panel ruled that, rather than deliberately taking the substance, she had been 'negligent' - not having noticed the substance in a product purchased in a US department store.

Efimova, 23, was allowed to keep the World Championship titles she had won in Barcelona that summer, but was stripped of four European short-course gold medals and four world records attained in late 2013.